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Chucho: The man for Mexico?

"He doesn't have enough experience and the top job
might be too much of him." Just one of the comments
FIFA.com received from its users in the wake of
the sacking of Mexico coach Hugo Sanchez and the temporary
appointment of youth guru Jesus Ramirez.

It was a common refrain among readers, journalists and fans.
However, 'Chucho' - as Ramirez is known - has one thing on
his CV no other Mexican coach can claim: a FIFA World Cup
title.

"My players formed a complete unit, which was what made all
the difference," Ramirez told
FIFA.com after hoisting aloft the FIFA U-17 World
Cup in Peru in 2005. "Together we achieved something
huge."

Thousands of fans turned out to greet the all-conquering team of
teenagers when they returned to Mexico City. Faces were painted,
flags were waved and the celebrations helped unite the football-mad
country under the banner and promise of a brighter future.

Inexperience an advantage?
A sense of unity may be just what the doctor
ordered for the Mexican national team, whose dominance in the
region is constantly under threat by reigning CONCACAF champions
USA. Criticism of former coaches like Sanchez, and Argentine
Ricardo Lavolpe before him, led to a poisonous atmosphere in the
country's newsrooms, stadiums and bars, with motives,
experience and club and national affiliations constantly
questioned.

There are certainly some who believe that 'Chucho,' with
his fresh optimism and limited experience at the top level, will be
the recipient of a little less criticism and a little more
understanding and patience than his predecessors. The long-time
architect of Mexico's youth system, Ramirez's only
experience in the country's top flight was as assistant coach
of Necaxa in 2001 and Atlante in 2000. He previously spent time
directing Atlante's youth program from 1995 to 1998.

Soft-spoken, calm and with the full respect of the younger
players, 'Chucho' knows talent when he sees it. Barcelona
gem Giovani Dos Santos, Osasuna and Arsenal's Carlos Vela,
Cesar Villaluz of Cruz Azul, rumoured Manchester United target
Guillermo 'Memo' Ochoa of Club America and Chivas ace
Patricio Araujo are just some of the players who came of age under
Ramirez's tutelage.

"These boys (the golden generation, as they are known) are
going to revolutionise Mexican football. When we started out in
2002, I told them that they had the opportunity to change the face
of football in our country," Ramirez told
FIFA.com. "They can become a force to be
reckoned with on the world stage. Their tremendous self-belief is
the reason behind their successes so far."

When speaking to Ramirez, it is evident that he genuinely cares
for his players, an essential quality in any top youth coach.
"I've seen them mature, learn, grow as a team and become
men. We've won a lot of trophies together and grown
together," he said after a tight loss to eventual champions
Argentina in the quarters of the U-20 finals in Canada last year.
"The defeat pained me, but nothing will ever take away the joy
of having coached such an exceptional bunch of lads."

Past, present and future
Who better than Ramirez to usher these precocious
youngsters into the senior national team and smooth their
integration with veteran stalwarts such as Rafa Marquez, Pavel
Pardo and Carlos Salcido? The question is a valid one, and the
Mexican FA might do well to look north to their arch-rival United
States as an example of a caretaker who turned out to have the
right stuff after all.

The US Soccer Federation announced former university, youth and
MLS coach Bob Bradley in interim charge as they hunted a promised
"foreign coach with world-class credentials" to replace
Bruce Arena in 2006. As the search extended from weeks to months,
Bradley - using of a number of youth stars including his son
Michael, Josi Altidore and Danny Szetela - made the job his own
with a string of fantastic results.

Leading the US to a fourth CONCACAF crown with their win over
Mexico, Bradley has gone on to amass a proud record of 13 wins
(including three on European soil), five losses and two draws since
taking the job.

Javier Aguirre, a former Mexico manager and international,
Argentinian Jose Pekerman and Luiz Felipe Scolari, though committed
to Portugal until after EURO 2008, have all been linked with the
El Tri top job on a permanent basis.

The FA is expected to announce their full-time coach in the next
few months, but in the meantime they may just find that the ideal
man for the job is right under their noses.